'Have Fallen In Love, Want To Do Things Properly': Bishop Quits Church After Falling In Love With Erotic Writer

A Spanish bishop resigned from the Roman Catholic Church after falling in love with a writer of satanic erotic fiction.

The 52-year-old left his post as Bishop of Solsona in central Catalonia last month and cited personal reasons as the motive. He said his decision to leave came following a period of reflection, discernment and prayer'.

Ladbible

¡°I have fallen in love and want to do things properly,¡± said the now-ex-bishop, according to a report by BBC, which picked up the story from Spanish media outlets after the news of why he quit broke last month.

In addition to widespread media attention, the 52-year-old¡¯s decision has also led to much internal criticism within the church. Some of his former colleagues told the Spanish media that they believed Novell to be possessed by demons. The situation is ¡°not a problem of celibacy but rather of infestation,¡± one said, as reported by the National Post.

Before his sudden resignation, in 2010 this bishop named Xavier Novel became Spain's youngest bishop at the age of 41, in Solsona in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.

He has backed so-called conversion therapy for gay people and carried out exorcisms. Xavier Novell was traditional in his remarks on abortion but his strident views on homosexuality and outspoken support for Catalonian independence were controversial.

Now in love but out of work, Novell is now looking for employment as a crop expert or agronomist in the Barcelona area, Religi¨®n Digital reported.

The woman he broke his vow of celibacy and commitment to Christ to be with, Silvia Caballol, is a divorced psychologist and erotic novelist whose titles include ¡°The Hell of Gabriel¡¯s Lust¡± and a trilogy called ¡°Amnesia.¡± Caballol¡¯s work has explored themes of madness, lust, sadism, God and Satan.

Ladbible

Novell has admitted in previous interviews that his infatuation with Caballol is not his first: Before becoming a man of God, he fell in love with and for a time wanted to marry and have children with an 18-year-old girl.